The way Donald Trump tells it, Trump world is Westworld and he’s the mad scientist who “made” everybody. If Trump endorses you, and you win, you then owe him your life and unflagging loyalty until the day you die. Sorry, Donald. It doesn’t work that way.
Trump’s vendetta du jour is against Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, who is getting a little too cozy with Ron DeSantis — specifically with Casey and her “Mamas For DeSantis” group — and now he’s reminding her who’s who and what’s what. The Hill:
“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump continued. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”
Trump’s post comes days after Reynolds appeared alongside DeSantis’s wife, Casey DeSantis, at the launch of her “Mamas for DeSantis” initiative for the Florida governor’s presidential campaign.
“Thank you to my friend @KimReynoldsIA for joining me for the launch of Mamas for DeSantis,” Casey DeSantis tweeted Friday. “Iowa and Florida are blessed to have strong governors who are holding the line in the name of freedom.”
It also follows a New York Times report detailing frustrations within Trump’s campaign about how Reynolds has appeared to embrace Gov. DeSantis, appearing alongside him at multiple events as he tries to make inroads in the state. The report noted Reynolds did not attend a recent event with Trump when he was in the state.
Sounds like she’s dumping you, Donald, not the other way around. And Iowa is a key state, no question about that.
For her part, Reynolds has said she wants to remain “neutral” and that’s sheer fantasyland. She can’t have her cake and eat it, too. Not in today’s political climate. If the GOP was the party it once was and there were a handful of candidates who didn’t differ substantially, then she could vow to remain neutral and let the process itself shake things down. But today, in the era of Trump, things are polarized.
DeSantis would need to do very well in the Hawkeye state to overcome the lead that Trump has there. Perhaps that will happen. Or, DeSantis may have already fizzled out and the die is cast. Nobody knows. But one thing everybody knows, is that when Donald Trump is involved the laws of political physics don’t work normally, so rule out nothing.
Also keep in the back of your mind that Brian Kemp and Glenn Youngkin may come forward if Trump gets so mired in legal problems that they might have a straight shot at the nomination. Or, conversely, if that happens, then Kemp and Youngkin may look forward to 2028 and just let the chips fall where they may in 2024. That is plausible as well.
DeSantis is counting on former guy being in prison by 2024.